"Thanks to the Knight Foundation for this 'knot-hole' [The Vault] through which we, the unwashed, can peer to see just how our tax dollars are being spent by City Hall. Please keep up the good work."
—Eugene B. Kordahl

The general fund revenue figure is $8 million more than the $496 million amended 2013 budget and $13 million more than the original 2013 budget passed by the City Council last year. Actual 2013 revenues are expected to reach about $494 million by the end of the year.

$504 million

Projected 2014 general fund revenue

2%

Increase from 2013 projected collections

According to Husserl’s analysis, the modest 2 percent bump for next year will come mostly from a projected 3 percent rise in property and sales tax collections, totaling $7.3 million.

The city also expects an additional $1.3 million in sanitation fees from the Sewerage & Water Board, resulting from a soon-to-be introduced ordinance allowing the utility to shut off water service for customers who fail to pay the $24 monthly trash fee.

All that additional revenue, however, probably won’t cover increased costs, including tens of millions for federal consent decrees over the New Orleans Police Department and Orleans Parish Prison and sharply rising workers’ compensation claims. According to media reports and public statements from city officials, departments are facing a 15 percent cut.

Next year’s requested capital expenditures total $238 million, which would come from city bonds, rebuilding grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and leases and fees brought in by city agencies.

Budget presentation

Live blog

Charles Maldonado covers the city of New Orleans and other local government bodies. He previously worked for Gambit, New Orleans’ alternative newsweekly, where he covered city hall, criminal justice and public health. Before moving to New Orleans, he covered state and local government for weekly papers in Nashville and Knoxville, Tenn.